SCHOOLS 



tioned in the Chantry Certificate of I548. 26 It 

 thence appears that it received assistance from 

 the Trinity Gild, the schoolhouse and garden, 

 valued at 8s. a year, being apparently the pro- 

 perty of that gild, and enjoyed by the master 

 rent-free. It looks as if we are to infer from 

 this that the old schoolhouse continued to be 

 used after the new foundation, and that no new 

 one had been built. The certificate runs : 



NOTTINGHAM TOWNE. 



The Guylde of the Trynytie in the parishe of 

 St. Mary, founded by Thomas Thurlande to mayn- 

 tayne z preestes to sing Masses for ever. Ys worthe 

 by yere in landes and possessions, lying and being in 

 diverse places of the saide towne of Nottingham, as 

 by the Survey therof made remayning with the 

 Surveyour of the said sheire particlerly appereth 

 jl8 gt. 64. Whereof in wages yerely paid to 

 William Raynes stipendiary there, 6. Rentes Reso- 

 lute, ys. f,\J. Rents decaied and vacant, <)s. Renles 

 given and paid yerely towards mayntaynaunce of a fie 

 scole, 8s., the poore i$s. zj. 



A special commission was appointed under the 

 Chantries Act for the Continuance of Schools, 

 charities for the poor, and ' curates of necessity,' 

 supported by or out of chantries, the commis- 

 sioners being Sir Walter Mildmay, afterwards 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Robert Kel- 

 way, afterwards serjeant-at-law. They ordered 

 that the school should continue to enjoy the 

 schoolhouse : 



Forasmuch as it apperith by the Certificat . . . 

 that the Scolemaster of the Scole of Nottyngham hath 

 yerlie hadd in augmentacion of his lyvyng, the house 

 called the Frescole in Notyngham, with a gardeyne, 

 parcell of the late Guylde of Holy Trynytie in Our 

 Ladie Churche, in Notyngham aforesaid, without 

 paieng any rente therefore . . . We therefore . . . 

 have assigned and appointed that the Scolemaster of 

 Nottyngham for the tyme beyng shall enjoye yerelie 

 the said house called the Scolehouse, with the said 

 gardeyne in Nottyngham aforesaid, without anything 

 paying for the same.* 6 



The school was in Stoney Street, which is 

 close to St. Mary's Church on the south side, 

 until 1868. In later years 2s. a year rent was 

 paid for it to the corporation, wrongfully, it 

 would seem, according to the order above 

 quoted. It is unfortunate that the certificate 

 did not, as usual, give the name of the master. 

 For there is no other evidence forthcoming as to 

 who was master at this critical time. 



A man who, if not famous himself, had a 

 famous or, as we may regard him, infamous, son, 

 was now or soon after master of the school. 

 This was Brian Garnett, father of Henry Gar- 

 nett the Jesuit, hanged for being an accessory to 

 the Gunpowder Plot, whose education by his 



15 Chant. Cert. 37, no. I, printed in Leach, Engl. 

 Schools at the Reform, i, 1 64. 



18 'bid. 171, from Schools Continuance Warrants. 



father at Nottingham School no doubt contri- 

 buted to his election, at the age of eleven, as a 

 scholar of Winchester College in 1567. He is 

 there entered as being born at Hennore, i e. 

 Heanor, Derbyshire, and the parish register at 

 Heanor records in 1576, that 'Brian Garnett, 

 late Skoolemaster of Nottingham, was buried the 

 xxith day of December.' The boy learnt his 

 Romanism at home, apparently, as his brother 

 Richard, a fellow of Balliol, was also a Romanist, 

 and had a son Thomas, a priest, also executed, 

 while a sister Mary became a nun. It seems 

 likely that Brian Garnett was the master who, 

 on 27 April 1553," was attacked by the ' Mickle- 

 torn ' or Leet jury. ' We presente the Skolle 

 mastar that shoulde teche the Frescolle, for there 

 hath bene dyvers men afore bus and hath com- 

 plenyd of hym, wherefore we desyer you to have 

 hym chaunged.' The entry, perhaps, rather 

 suggests negligence in the phrase ' that shoulde 

 teche the Fre Scolle.' But it seems not im- 

 probable that religion was the real grievance. 

 For at the same time one of the school wardens 

 was complained of : 28 



We present Maister Mayre (6s. Sd. and all his 

 brether 6s. 8</. a pece) and his brethren for amyttyng 

 Maister Quarmbe to be one of the Wardyns of the 

 Fre Scolle, contrary [to] the foundacyon, where as 

 the land ys in daunger of losyng yf yt were knowen, 

 and yt hath bene oftyntymes presentyd and no refor- 

 macyon done : there fore, yf any hynderaunce be, 

 the faulte wylbe leade [laid] unto you . . . We 

 desyer you, Maister Mayre, and alle your brethern 

 that we may have every yere the accoumpt for the 

 Bryges and the F[r]ee Scolle landes made openly, that 

 the Burgesys may here and in what case they stande 

 in and what the sumtm of ther rentaulles be. 



It has been suggested that tbe danger in 

 Quarmby, who had been sheriff in 1534-5 and 

 mayor in 1542-3 and 1549-50, was, that having 

 married Elizabeth daughter of Robert Mellers, 

 he ' might endeavour to get possession of the 

 school property.' But it is difficult to see how 

 this could be. It is noticeable that Quarmby 

 was mayor in 1555-6 and M.P. in 1554, at the 

 beginning of Mary's reign, and it seems likely, 

 therefore, that he was a Romanizer, and that his 

 religion was the danger. As young Garnett was 

 born at Heanor in 1555 or 1556 it would 

 appear that his father had then retired there, 

 being dispossessed of the school after this adverse 

 presentment of the jury. 



After the accession of Mary to the throne it 

 was deemed necessary to obtain a charter of 

 inspeximus of the licence in mortmain of 

 Henry VIII. The charter was sealed 1 1 Octo- 

 ber 1554 'on the request of William Watkin- 

 son, alderman.' It is merely an ' exemplifi- 

 cation, or copy, without even any words of 

 confirmation, of the charter of Henry VIII. 



" Borough Rec. iv, 106. 



* Ibid. 1 08. 



223 



